Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

As a former public school teacher (and before that a student for life), I learned that tests that examine what has been learned from the previous lessons are mandatory for the good of the student.  We can guess what students have learned by observing and listening, but these are merely “gut” reactions led by our intuitive judgements and cannot truly be measured.  It is through tests, pop quizzes, and weekly exams that quantify what has been internalized by the student from listening, observing, demonstrating, participating in hands-on experiments, and finally applying what has been learned.

David is a Learner.  Learners are great leaders. Let’s take this idea a bit farther; when leaders cease to learn, their leadership suffers greatly.  We have watched leaders cease to lead because they cease to learn.  

David not only wants to know God; he seeks the wisdom and help he needs from God.  God is his teacher who provides the lessons David needs to learn. David was not perfect; he was human like the rest of us. But he knew the One who was perfect and who would guide him on the right path.

David’s psalms are full of repentance and failed tests but the words to his songs also include his awesome reverence for His Teacher, God, who examines him from head to toe because of his unfailing love for him. David runs to the One, the Only One worthy to forgive him knowing he will receive mercy with makeup exams so the lessons from God until the learning becomes a part of him.  David craves to be examined by God!  Do we?

We see how the heart of God can be found within the heart of David.  This comes through real life lessons and tests that help us to become more the One who created us “in His own image.”

Psalm 26, The Message

Clear my name, God;
    I’ve kept an honest shop.
I’ve thrown in my lot with you, God, and
    I’m not budging.

² Examine me, God, from head to foot,
    order your battery of tests.
Make sure I’m fit
    inside and out

³ So I never lose
    sight of your love,
But keep in step with you,
    never missing a beat.

^4-5 I don’t hang out with tricksters,
    I don’t pal around with thugs;
I hate that pack of gangsters,
    I don’t deal with double-dealers.

^6-7 I scrub my hands with purest soap,
    then join hands with the others in the great circle,
    dancing around your altar, God,
Singing God-songs at the top of my lungs,
    telling God-stories.

^8-10 God, I love living with you;
    your house glows with your glory.
When it’s time for spring cleaning,
    don’t sweep me out with the quacks and crooks,
Men with bags of dirty tricks,
    women with purses stuffed with bribe-money.

^11-12 You know I’ve been aboveboard with you;
    now be aboveboard with me.
I’m on the level with you, God;
    I bless you every chance I get.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:2-5 NIV 

Some lessons are harder than others to learn but all are beneficial to our spiritual growth as one who believes and listens to the Teacher.  We learn that God allows tough situations in our lives to refine us and bring us closer to him. We should approach these times with a right attitude and seek wisdom from God. Instead of the whine of “why me” we should pause to ask “what do you want we to know and do, Lord?”

David’s prayers are lessons in and of themselves for us!  David not only prayed for forgiveness; but for the mercy of God in the messes he made!  He asked God to examine everything about him with guidance to get back on the right path with God!  We love that about David the Learner!  

As I teacher, I knew that if I put the spelling list on the board but never asked them to write them down, practice spelling them daily, or apply the words by creating sentences; they would joyfully move on to playing with toys or messing around with each other. If I also told them, “Here are the words but don’t worry there won’t be a test,” I know that most if not all of them would forget the list altogether.  What is not tested is not learned.

Is that how we are with God’s lessons in His Word taught to us by His Holy Spirit? Do we run from the tests or ask God for them like David to make sure we are learning our lessons from God? 

Ah, now it gets personal. Pause to be still and pray while I talk to God myself.

Oh Lord,

Examine me from head to toe, see if there is any offensive way in me. When there is, please remove it from me.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh and feed my soul and daily restore the joy of your salvation at work within me so I will be more and more like you. 

Thank you, Jesus for being the Master Teacher, the Word made flesh who moved into the neighborhood of humanity to reiterate and demonstrate what God has been saying since the beginning of Creation. Then you laid down your life to pay for our sins.  You alone are worthy to grade us and grow us and put us back on the right road with you.

To you be all glory, honor, and praise! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

“Life will get better!” “Look up and smile!” We say these words to encourage each other as we go through troubles. Believers in Jesus know that Jesus is our Teacher, Savior and Lord.  So, when we’re down, we must look up and focus on the Teacher who stands in the trial with us ready to help.  The joy of the Lord IS our strength!

What words of truth do you fall back on when you are weary of life’s challenges and depressed by unexpected setbacks?

David knows because his life began with being the youngest of many brothers who taunted him.  He was not considered a person of value; only a boy sent to watch over sheep.  He knew the sheep were considered more valuable than he was. He knew his position in the family and accepted it.  But God entered David’s heart and began molding this lowly child out in the fields with the sheep into a warrior of a man who trusted God with his entire being. By God’s strength and power; he fought lions and other predators as he defend the sheep put in his care. God had much bigger plans for David than his father, brothers, or sisters could have imagined! God shaped the life of David to become the new king of Israel!  Generations later, in the line of David, the birth the King of Glory would occur—God’s Plan all along!  Wow.

David looks up to God and asks to “be schooled of all God’s ways”.  This is a man after God’s own heart.  Who schools us?  Who is the greatest influence in our lives right now?  Who do we listen to most and think about often?  Who is the most trust worthy person in our lives? Who we think about most will be reflected in our behaviors because we become who we adore with awe, respect with humbled attitudes, and cling to with grateful hearts.  

Psalm 25, The Message

^1-2 My head is high, God, held high;
I’m looking to you, God;
No hangdog skulking for me.

³ I’ve thrown in my lot with you;
You won’t embarrass me, will you?
Or let my enemies get the best of me?

Don’t embarrass any of us
Who went out on a limb for you.
It’s the traitors who should be humiliated.

⁴ Show me how you work, God;
School me in your ways.

⁵ Take me by the hand;
Lead me down the path of truth.
You are my Savior, aren’t you?

⁶ Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, God;
Rebuild the ancient landmarks!

⁷ Forget that I sowed wild oats;
Mark me with your sign of love.
Plan only the best for me, God!

⁸ God is fair and just;
He corrects the misdirected,
Sends them in the right direction.

⁹ He gives the rejects his hand,
And leads them step-by-step.

¹⁰ From now on every road you travel
Will take you to God.
Follow the Covenant signs;
Read the charted directions.

¹¹ Keep up your reputation, God;
Forgive my bad life;
It’s been a very bad life.

¹² My question: What are God-worshipers like?
Your answer: Arrows aimed at God’s bull’s-eye.

¹³ They settle down in a promising place;
Their kids inherit a prosperous farm.

¹⁴ God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.

¹⁵ If I keep my eyes on God,
I won’t trip over my own feet.

¹⁶ Look at me and help me!
I’m all alone and in big trouble.

¹⁷ My heart and mind are fighting each other;
Call a truce to this civil war.

¹⁸ Take a hard look at my life of hard labor,
Then lift this ton of sin.

¹⁹ Do you see how many people
Have it in for me?
How viciously they hate me?

²⁰ Keep watch over me and keep me out of trouble;
Don’t let me down when I run to you.

²¹ Use all your skill to put me together;
I wait to see your finished product.

²² God, give your people a break
From this run of bad luck.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Other people may lift up their hearts and minds to idols and fill their souls with these manufactured substitutes for God, but David lifted his heart up to the Lord, for He is the only true source of encouragement. In one of the darkest hours of David’s life, when David had lost everything, he “strengthened himself in the LORD his God” (See 1 Samuel 30:6).  David knew and now we know.  Look up!

Knowing that the Lord has a plan for our lives, and that this plan is the very best for us, should give us great joy and confidence as we seek His will.  “Seek God first”, says Jesus to his followers with directions of where to look and who to trust for Life!

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”—Jesus, Matthew 6:25-33, ESV

Trust God. He knew what we needed most—real life with real love that is relentless for our souls. 

Trust God.  He wants the best for us, so He sent a part of Himself to save us from our sins—all of them—to be remembered no more!

Trust God.  He knows what He is doing.

Lord,

Let the morning bring word of your unfailing love for I put all my trust in you.  Show me the right path to take and teach me Your ways for my life is entrusted to your care.

You are Life and you are Love!

In Jesus Name, Amen

Psalm 23, the wonderful testimony of God by David who knew what it was like to shepherd sheep who relied on him for food and water, has become one of the most quoted psalms of the Bible.  It is read at funerals most often as a testimony of God in the believer who has gone to live with the Shepherd forever.  Knowing all that however, I wonder if this shouldn’t be read as our “daily manna” of food for the soul until we truly internalize the fact that God/Jesus/Holy Spirit is indeed our personal Shepherd who leads each one of us and collectively as His “church of sheep” to all that is Good and right for us?  For example;

Do we really believe our Shepherd is all we need and nothing else matters? Then why worry over things that will not matter in a few days, weeks, or years?

Do we really believe that our Shepherd will indeed show us all the good places to lay our heads, eat our fill, with refreshing clear water to drink? These are basics to building our faith in our Shepherd who never fails to provide for us as He guides us!

Do we really believe that when we stray from following our noses as we eat, instead of keeping our eyes on the Shepherd as He leads, that He will come find us and bring us back to safety?  Because He does!  His Holy Spirit sends a warning signal to our hearts to look up and see the Shepherd so we can run to meet Him!

De we really believe that when we are attacked in the pasturelands by predators, that our Shepherd will fight for us and stand between us and the Enemy who wants to devour our souls?  He will!

Do we really believe that when the things of this world cause unrest and confusion and fear overcomes us with worry that our Shepherd leaves our side?  He does not.

Do we really believe that the Shepherd’s love of us and His care for us is so great that He would lay down His life for ours?  Because He did!

Will our Shepherd really invite us to sit at His Table, brimming with Goodness and Blessings—more than we could think or imagine—in full view of the Enemy who wants to destroy us?  Yes, He does and He will continue!

Let us not wait for a funeral or even a wedding to feed on the precious words of David who sought the heart of God—His Shepherd. 

Sing and shout it out loud—The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing!

Psalm 23, The Message

^1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

⁴ Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

⁵ You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

⁶ Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my life.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”—Jesus, John 10:27-30, NLT

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way…

Lord,

Thank for prompting David to write songs, inspired by Your Spirit, in the pasturelands of his entire life.  He was not perfect either; but He knew the One who was.  Thank you for loving us so much that you sacrificed your life for us to pay our sin debt in full. And if that wasn’t enough, you forgave us, removing our sins so that we may live forever with you—The Great and Good Shepherd of our souls.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

I will sing of my Redeemer and his wondrous love to me;
on the cruel cross he suffered, from the curse to set me free.

Sing, O sing of my Redeemer!
With his blood he purchased me; on the cross he sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free.

Psalm 22

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹ But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

David writes in detail of the Messiah who will be mocked, spit on, beaten beyond recognition, stripped of all dignity, nailed to two boards, then hoisted up and driven into the ground on a high hill for all humanity to pass by and see.  On the cross in excruciating pain and agony;

“Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Matthew 27:46  Jesus is quoting Psalm 22!

David writes a song of prophecy, proclaiming the Redeemer Messiah. Jesus will come to earth to be born many generations later from the line of David!  Psalm 22 was written long before Jesus’ birth, ministry, followed by the crucifixion that details the sufferings that mirror Jesus’ experience, such as the mocking of onlookers, the piercing of hands and feet, and the casting of lots for his clothing!  Scripture always proves Scripture!

But how did David know?  When a person like David is in constant pursuit of the heart of God; the heart of God takes over all our hearts, minds, and souls.  Running after the heart of God as our main goal of Life effects our whole being which transforms us to think and act more like God as we humbly walk with God.  We become who we love and who influences us most! We become who we think about often.  We reflect the love of God as we pursue God.

Pursuing the heart of God causes our hearts to beat like the heart of our God!  Life takes on new meaning and the things of this world fade into the background in our personal pursuit of desiring all that God wants for us—a heart that beats in harmony with His heart!  David’s psalms of the redeemer come from possessing a heart like God’s.  Pursuing a heart like God’s also means that what breaks the heart of God also breaks our own hearts.

How deep the Father’s love for us indeed!  In his final moments, Jesus was standing in for the human condition, experiencing the ultimate separation from God caused by sin.

Think about it—

Jesus carried all the sins of the world upon his own shoulders. He was the only one who could for He knew no sin therefore He was the Perfect Sacrifice for sin. The agony and pain was real, very real as the Son of Man. As the Son of God, however his mission was clear and His love for us was relentless.  Jesus who could have called legions of angels to rescue Him—did not.  Jesus remained on the cross so He could redeem, “buy us back” from the bondage and slavery of our sin.  For a brief, and most painful moment for Jesus who was in constant contact with God, the Father who sent Him; God turned his face from His Son until the redemption from sin was complete.  God’s Holy Presence of Perfection cannot occupy the same space as sin. It is sin that blocks us from God.

The Son of Man cried out in pain and cried out “Why have you forsaken me; but the Son of God was resolved to finish the work God sent Him to do. And He did!

Max Lucado makes it personal as he writes how God must abandoned His Son until God’s plan was complete—

“Abandonment. That is the punishment for a criminal. Abandonment. That is the suffering borne by the most evil. Abandonment. That’s for the vile—not for you. Not you, the King of kings. Not you, the Beginning and the End. Not you, the One Unborn. After all, didn’t John call you the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29)?

Who has come to take away the sins of the world. Wait a minute. To take away the sins . . . I’d never thought about those words.

I’d read them but never thought about them. I thought you just, I don’t know, sent sin away. Banished it. I thought you just stood in front of the mountains of our sins and told them to be gone. Just like you did to the demons. Just like you did to the hypocrites in the temple.

I just thought you commanded the evil out. I never noticed that you took it out. It never occurred to me that you actually touched it—or worse still that it touched you.

That must have been a horrible moment. I know what it’s like to be touched by sin. I know what it’s like to smell the stench of that stuff. Remember what I used to be like? Before I knew you, I wallowed in that mire. I didn’t just touch sin, I loved it. I drank it. I danced with it. I was in the middle of it.

But why am I telling you? You remember. You were the One who saw me. You were the One who found me. I was lonely. I was afraid. Remember? “Why? Why me? Why has all this hurt happened?”

I know it wasn’t much of a question. It wasn’t the right question. But it was all I knew to ask. You see, God, I felt so confused. So desolate. Sin will do that to you. Sin leaves you shipwrecked, orphaned, adrift. Sin leaves you aban—

Oh. Oh, my.

My, goodness, God. Is that what happened? You mean sin did the same to you that it did to me?

Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t understand. You really were alone, weren’t you?

Your question was real, wasn’t it, Jesus? You really were afraid. You really were alone. Just like I was. Only, I deserved it. You didn’t.

Forgive me, I spoke out of turn.

When was the last time you felt lonely? The next time you feel that way, look around. Everyone else may have deserted you, but God remains at your side.” –Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible

Oh Redeemer and Lord of My Life,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

“The joy of the Lord is my strength” is the song we sing with smiles on our faces as we gather to praise Him but do we really know what that means. David, a man after the heart of God explains this awesome, beyond human strength with attachments which include joy, peace, confidence, love, with living life to the full!  Troubles and trials happen on earth to all humans and they did to David certainly; but God’s strength comes full force to overcome our circumstances when we believe in God and know that He can and will help us without fail!  Since God never fails; God is our confidence through it all!  He is the one in whom we rejoice and “holler our hosannas” to with lifted hands toward heaven!

How great is our God! How great is His joy and victorious strength!  

Psalm 21

^1-7 Your strength, God, is the king’s strength.
    Helped, he’s hollering Hosannas.
You gave him exactly what he wanted;
    you didn’t hold back.
You filled his arms with gifts;
    you gave him a right royal welcome.
He wanted a good life; you gave it to him,
    and then made it a long life as a bonus.
You lifted him high and bright as a cumulus cloud,
    then dressed him in rainbow colors.
You pile blessings on him;
    you make him glad when you smile.
Is it any wonder the king loves God?
    that he’s sticking with the Best?

^8-12 With a fistful of enemies in one hand
    and a fistful of haters in the other,
You radiate with such brilliance
    that they cringe as before a furnace.
Now the furnace swallows them whole,
    the fire eats them alive!
You purge the earth of their progeny,
    you wipe the slate clean.
All their evil schemes, the plots they cook up,
    have fizzled—every one.
You sent them packing;
    they couldn’t face you.

¹³ Show your strength, God, so no one can miss it.
    We are out singing the good news!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Let’s just pause to praise…

Water you turned into wine, opened the eyes of the blind there’s no one like you, none like You!
Into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there’s no one like you none like You!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

Into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there’s no one like you, none like You!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

(Written and sung by Chris Tomlin who continues to write songs that connect people to the heart of Jesus and lead them to a greater worship of Him.)

Sing out the Good News of what God did for us through His Son, Jesus! Jesus IS the Good News sent by God!  Sing of the Gift of His Holy Spirit who guides us to Truth 24/7!  In a world where truth is hidden by unbelieving humans led of evil; God brings His Truth of salvation to the Light of Day, as demonstrated by Jesus’ sacrifice showing His love, mercy, and grace. 

Receive Jesus salvation with gladness and sing heartily for the joy of our strength is indeed the Lord!  He is our confidence to live for Him always and forever!

Let us pause to holler our hosannas—an old hymn of my youth—”Blessed Assurance”

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

(Written by Fanny Jane Crosby, 1820-1915; Music by Phoebe Palmer Knapp, 1839-1908)

To you be the glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen

The best thing we can do when we feel God is not listening, not working on our behalf, or God has taken a nap—all of which are not true—get up and go outside. Let go of ourselves and our fret and worry anxieties. Remember to breathe in the air of the Maker who gives Life.  Look up into the heavens at night and see the majesty of the universe displayed before us.  Look around as the sun comes into view from the east just like clockwork. It’s a new day with new opportunities to praise God and thank Him for a fresh start! Yesterday is gone.  Let it go.  This is the day the Lord has made—Rejoice and be glad!  Our choice!

As God’s creation awakens to a new day all God’s creatures give praise in their way to the Creator. The flowers turn their blooming faces toward the Light. The wind blows through the trees like a lullaby. Sometimes rain falls to nourish the land to prepare for a new growing season.  And God does that for each one of us, too.  Praise God from whom all blessings, gifts, opportunities, provisions, and protection flow—all wrapped up in His unconditional love, unending mercies, and relentless grace. 

To God be the glory!  There is no one like our God!

Psalm 19

^1-2 God’s glory is on tour in the skies,
    God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
    Professor Night lectures each evening.

^3-4 Their words aren’t heard,
    their voices aren’t recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
    unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

^4-5 God makes a huge dome
    for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun’s a new husband
    leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
    racing to the tape.

⁶ That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies
    from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
    warming hearts to faith.

^7-9 The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
    and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
    showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
    and easy on the eyes.
God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
    with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
    down to the nth degree.

¹⁰ God’s Word is better than a diamond,
    better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring,
    better than red, ripe strawberries.

^11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger
    and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
    Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
    Keep me from stupid sins,
    from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
    scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
    these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
    on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
    God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together.”

“The decisions of God are accurate, down to the nth degree.”

“God’s Word warns us of danger,” convicting us of the sins that block our view of God and our personal growth in His character. Then God helps us find our way to Him—like finding hidden treasure!

God cleans our slates of confessed sins daily and gives us fresh start to walk in His ways.

“Just trust Me,” says God.  And all God’s people said—Yes, and Amen!

Warren Wiersbe writes;

“When you study God’s creation with a Bible in your hand, you can’t help but see Jesus! He is seen in the vine (John 15), the sun (John 8:12; see Mal. 4:2), the stars (Num. 24:17), the lambs (John 1:29), the apple trees and lilies (Song 2:3, 16; 6:3), the seed planted in the ground (John 12:23, 24), and the bread on the table (John 6:35). The Word in the hand is fine; the Word in the head is better; but the Word in the heart is what transforms us and matures us in Christ (Ps. 119:11; Col. 3:16, 17).” –Wiersbe Study Bible

Lord,

Thank you for bringing my attention to thanksgiving for all you have done, are doing and will do in my life. Thank you for all the benefits of loving you back and serving you with gladness. Thank you for teaching us the way to follow that leads to life and more Life!

In Jesus Name, Amen

Father in Heaven,

Although the world was silent on the Sabbath after reeling, wailing, and mourning from watching the excruciating agony of their dear Friend, Teacher, Messiah, Your Son die on a cross the day before by a few followers and his earthy mother; You were still at work. Jesus, Son of Man/Son of God obediently and willingly fulfilled His work to redeem us; but the second act of Your Plan to give all who believe eternal life was about to burst forth by You in resurrection power! They just didn’t know it yet! But we do now.

Saturday Sabbath was silent but that didn’t mean you were asleep! You never slumber or sleep. Nothing escapes your attention! You are always at work for our good in ways that declare you are God! The resurrection of Jesus from death to life in victory over evil was always part of The Plan from the beginning to save, redeem, and gift us with eternal life! Although at times it is hard to wrap my head around your deep, unconditional, unchanging love for the world and for me personally, I desire what you have to give to me —Your life for my life.

I do not deserve this gift and certainly cannot earn it or buy it but I receive it and will spend the rest of my life loving you back as I seek your will while living gratefully redeemed in Your Presence. All of me given to you daily to gain all of You is my constant prayer and offering to you. You did for me what I cannot do for myself—remove my sins and set me free to become more like you in every way.

Pursuit of You with committed hearts is what you are looking for in all of us—more than the perfection of religious acts. I can’t thank you enough for releasing me from the guilt of the pursuit of perfection which is just another sin when it blocks our view of You! There is pure, joyous freedom in the simple holy pursuit of You! You are God; I am not.

Thank you for being with us always. Thank you, Jesus for being the Perfect sacrifice that removed my sins. Thank you, Holy Spirit for guiding me 24/7 to all Truth with ways to live Truth. Thank you, Father God for the resurrection power that raised Jesus and lives in us! Wow!

In the silence, You are still at work! That’s why we live with expectant Hope believing that even when we cannot see or feel you at work, you are! You are with each one of us even now. You are our God!

To You be all glory, honor, and praise! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen